Tuesday, October 20, 2015

31 Days of Horror: Day 20-- Gods of Lovecraft Aaron French Interview

Over 9 of the next 10 days I will be featuring 10 of the 12 authors in this collection. Each has answered a series of questions from me about their God, why they picked it, what their favorite scary books are, and more. It’s very similar to the posts I have been running by authors all month, just with a Lovercraftian spin. Expect each day’s post to bring you a handful of new authors and titles to add to your arsenal of books you can suggest to patrons.

We begin today with the editor of this collection, Aaron French.

Please remember you can also enter for a chance to win one of two copies of The Gods of H.P. Lovecraft by emailing me at zombiegrl75 [at] gmail [dot] com by 10/29 at 11:59pm.

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Who are you?

Aaron J. French, editor-in-chief of Dark Discoveries magazine, editor of various other anthologies too, as well the editor of many novels with JournalStone Publishing. I also write my own dark fiction, a blend of supernaturalism, surrealism, and esoteric spirituality—plus some good old fashion straight-up horror thrown in.

Who is your favorite horror author [besides Lovecraft]?

In terms of weird fiction, it’s Arthur Machen. He’s a master and there are no other authors in that subgenre who match him. But I also like Thomas Ligotti, Philip K. Dick, and Stephen King. Oh and Chelsea Quinn Yarbro, Tanith Lee, and Storm Constantine.

Why do you love horror?

For me, it’s the presence of the supernatural. Slashers and super gory thrillers don’t represent the horror genre to me. The presence of that unknown, “above-nature” encounter with a world beyond the ordinary, with which the characters of the book must grapple, is what I like about horror. It forces readers to remember that the world around them isn’t as it appears to be, that it’s much more mysterious than we as human beings, in our arrogance, believe the world to be when perceived only with our five senses.

Which “God” did you focus on in the Anthology? What drew you to this character?

Well I picked all the gods for the anthology, actually. But I got a lot of help from Donald Tyson, and also a little help from ST Joshi, in making the final decision about which “gods” were to be included. I feel the book has the best representation of Lovecraft’s bestiary.

Please share some of the authors you are reading and enjoying now.

With all the editing I do, I’m fortunate enough to get to read a lot of contemporary authors in the field. At the moment, I’m really digging Laird Barron, Brian Evenson, Elizabeth Hand, Mark Valentine, Richard Gavin, Nnedi Okorafor, and Graham Hancock (GH is writing fiction now).

What other works do you have out now?

At the moment, I have an Omnibus collection of my first two anthologies, Monk Punk and The Shadow of the Unknown, out with Hazardous Press. JournsalStone released my latest anthology, Songs of the Satyrs, all-new tales about mythical satyrs. My single author collection Aberrations of Reality is out from Crowded Quarantine Productions, and it features many of my best tales in the vein of supernaturalism, dark surrealism, and esoteric horror.

What are you working on?

I’m working on a very super-secret new anthology with a colleague of mine, and my novella The Dream Beings will be out in January of 2016 with Samhain Publishing.

About Me

I am a Librarian [MLIS] in Illinois specializing in serving leisure readers ages 13 and up. I train library staff all over the world on how to match books with readers through their local public library. I am the author of The Readers’ Advisory Guide to Horror, 2d edition (ALA Editions, 2012). I am under contract to write content for EBSCO's NoveList database, Booklist and Indie Picks Magazine , am a member of the Adult Reading Round Table Steering Committee, a 5 term Trustee for my local library, and am a proud member of The Horror Writers' Association. Check out the side bar for links to the groups and organizations with which I am affiliated.